Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the death of Ruth Sanders, my mother-in-law. The death certificate and other documents say she died on May 24, 2007, but we know that her death happened on May 23, but wasn't officially certified till early in the morning on May 24th. Ruth apparently had a sudden and massive stroke and died very quickly. Linda and Marianne had been calling her all evening, and we grew ever more worried that something was wrong. Finally, Marianne and Todd went over to her house late on Wednesday, May 23rd, and found her deceased.
Everyone given the precious gift of life has to die. But sometimes the death is stunningly sudden and unexpected. The odd thing is that you can be 100 years old, and yet your death will be perceived by some of your family and friends as unexpected. Ruth was 82 years old, with some minor physical complaints, but still very sharp and very vigorous. In fact, she was indefatigable, a force of nature.
Ruth had been married for about 46 years to Art Sanders, who died in April of 1996. They had 5 children, Linda, Steve, Bruce, Marianne, and Paul. She devoted most of her adult life to homemaking and raising her children. Who was better at this than Ruth Sanders? Her five children and thirteen grandchildren are all extraordinary, productive, loving people, and that is to no small extent the fruit of Ruth's (and Art's!) efforts.
Ruth was extremely intelligent, disciplined, and hard-working. You might say she was a bit stubborn, too. But stubbornness is often a virtue that the best and most accomplished people possess (I think of Maurice McCrackin, Ernest Bromley, Marion Bromley, James Ricalton, Daniel Berrigan--the likes of them!).
When you lose your father and then your mother (or your father-in-law and your mother-in-law), you feel like an orphan. And it doesn't matter how old you are. We felt orphaned when Ruth Sanders died a year ago.
Ruth Sanders: An amazing person, a force of nature, one who took the vocation of homemaker and motherhood to the highest levels, to the level of Art. Requiescat in Pace.
Everyone given the precious gift of life has to die. But sometimes the death is stunningly sudden and unexpected. The odd thing is that you can be 100 years old, and yet your death will be perceived by some of your family and friends as unexpected. Ruth was 82 years old, with some minor physical complaints, but still very sharp and very vigorous. In fact, she was indefatigable, a force of nature.
Ruth had been married for about 46 years to Art Sanders, who died in April of 1996. They had 5 children, Linda, Steve, Bruce, Marianne, and Paul. She devoted most of her adult life to homemaking and raising her children. Who was better at this than Ruth Sanders? Her five children and thirteen grandchildren are all extraordinary, productive, loving people, and that is to no small extent the fruit of Ruth's (and Art's!) efforts.
Ruth was extremely intelligent, disciplined, and hard-working. You might say she was a bit stubborn, too. But stubbornness is often a virtue that the best and most accomplished people possess (I think of Maurice McCrackin, Ernest Bromley, Marion Bromley, James Ricalton, Daniel Berrigan--the likes of them!).
When you lose your father and then your mother (or your father-in-law and your mother-in-law), you feel like an orphan. And it doesn't matter how old you are. We felt orphaned when Ruth Sanders died a year ago.
Ruth Sanders: An amazing person, a force of nature, one who took the vocation of homemaker and motherhood to the highest levels, to the level of Art. Requiescat in Pace.
[The photos above were taken in the park at Put-in-Bay, Ohio (South Bass Island), in June 2002 and show Ruth, Linda, and Emily. Ruth accompanied us often to Lakeside and Put-in-Bay.]
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